French popular music

French popular music is a music of France belonging to any of a number of musical styles that are accessible to the general public and mostly distributed commercially. It stands in contrast to French classical music, which historically was the music of elites or the upper strata of society, and traditional French folk music which was shared non-commercially. It is sometimes abbreviated to French pop music, although French pop music is more often used for a narrower branch of popular music.

The late 1800s saw the dawn of the music hall when Yvette Guilbert was a major star. The era lasted through to the 1930s and saw the likes of Félix Mayol, Lucienne Boyer,
Marie-Louise Damien, Marie Dubas, Fréhel, Georges Guibourg, Tino Rossi, Jean Sablon, Charles Trenet and Maurice Chevalier.

French popular music in the 20th century included singers like superstar Édith Piaf as well as Monique Serf (Barbara) and Georges Brassens plus the more art-house musicians like Brigitte Fontaine. Many present-day stars released their first albums in the mid-1970s, early 1980s including Francis Cabrel, Alain Souchon, Laurent Voulzy, Jean-Jacques Goldman and William Sheller. More recently, the success of the Star Academy television show has spawned a new generation of young pop music stars including Jenifer Bartoli and Nolwenn Leroy; and the superstar status of diva Mylene Farmer inspired pop rock performers like Alizée and Lorie, and R&B-influenced singers like Nadiya and Ophelie Winter.

American and British rock and roll was also popular in the 1950s and 60s, and indigenous rock achieved some domestic success. Punk rock, heavy metal found some listeners.

In particular, electronic music, as exemplified by Jean Michel Jarre, achieved a wide French audience. The French electro-pop bands Air and Daft Punk and techno artist Laurent Garnier found a wide audience in the late 1990s and early 2000s, both locally and internationally. Electronica groups such as Télépopmusik continue to enjoy success.

French song (chanson française)

French songs, known as chanson française, refers to French popular music sung in the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s by singers and songwriters such as Edith Piaf, Jacques Brel, Françoise Hardy, Yves Montand or Georges Brassens constituting a unique cultural phenomenon.

Sometimes unjustly associated with the past, such as is the music from american golden age musicals, spanish Zarzuelas and italian operettas, French songs are nevertheless today still part of a dynamic French social movement which has for centuries – since the French revolution – moved audiences with elegant and often poetic lyrics combined with realism around social themes, spirituality and love. The most widely recognized songs such as “Non, je ne regrette rien", "Ne me quitte pas" or "Les feuilles mortes" have dignified successors in diverse genres such as rap, electronic music or pop. There are even competitions of chanson française, such as "Vive la reprise". Among the modern followers of chanson française, we find Pierre Bachelet or Paloma Berganza; as well as some fusion versions like Estrella Morente's version of Ne me quitte pas.